Doomsday
by evgrrl09
Summary: While in London, Morgan, Garcia, and Prentiss are caught in the middle of a violent viral epidemic. Stranded in the middle of a deteriorating society, the three must find a way to survive, hoping that aid will come. Criminal Minds fic set amidst the backdrop of the "28 Days Later" infection. Morgan/Garcia pairing included. Rated M for very violent situations. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
1. A Bad Start To The Day

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**So, Halloween is coming up and what better way than to celebrate than to torture some of my favorite fictional characters by sticking them in a situation from one of my favorite horror movies? Yes, here I take Penelope Garcia, Emily Prentiss, and Derek Morgan and plop them in the middle of the epidemic from 28 Days Later. It's gonna be fun! Please review!**

**A/N: For those of you who do not know the setting of 28 Days Later (and you should watch it if you can stomach gory horror!), essentially what occurs is Britain is overcome with a rage virus that makes people go crazy and lose all control so that they start killing people. Now, some call them zombies, but this is not the case. These people, called 'The Infected', are not dead. They do not live off of human flesh. Yeah, they go around sinking their teeth into people, but they don't eat them, they just bite, then go about doing the same to other non-Infected people. That, and they die of starvation. This death is really death. They don't get back up and start eating people. Now that we have established they are not zombies technically, I can continue. So there's a virus that spreads across Britain and it turns into your typical post-apocalyptic society, people fighting to survive on their own as there is no one else to help them.**

Penelope woke to the sunlight streaming in through her bedroom window where she was staying while in London at Emily's flat. She was so glad Derek had convinced her to tag along while he was on temporary duty. Since she'd been gone, Penelope had done nothing but miss Prentiss. The trip was also a nice way for her to relax before she met the BAU's replacement for Emily.

Sitting up in bed, she glanced at the clock. It was nine o'clock. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes and put her glasses on her face, the world coming into much greater clarity. She rose from the plush white comforter and sheets and through on a silk robe over her tank top and boy-short covered butt.

When she exited her room, she started for the granite counter topped kitchen and was more than a little delighted to find her best friend sipping a cup of coffee and wearing no shirt.

"Morning there, Hot Stuff," she purred coming in behind him.

He turned around and flashed her his million dollar grin. "I'll show you a good morning, Baby Girl," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

She giggled, the thought _If only..._ going through her head. "Keep teasing me, and I'll have to make good on it," she flirted.

He tweaked her nose. "Silly girl," he laughed deeply. He gestured towards the coffee pot. "There's caffeine for your enjoyment."

She nodded. "Oh, I could definitely use a cup of it," she said eagerly, getting a mug from the cabinet. As she poured herself a cup of coffee, she looked back up at him and tilted her head to the side. "Where's Em? Don't tell me she's still in bed. I know we all got a little tipsy last night, but not _that_ tipsy!"

A grin covered his face. "Although, if we had gotten tipsy, I would have to have my way with you," he purred, getting down towards her face, so close that his breath was on her cheeks. Her lungs quite working and she felt a hot blush creep up her cheeks. Giggling uncomfortably, she backed away and took a sip of her coffee. She wasn't in the mood for his teasing. It would just arouse her too much and then she would have a pleasurable ache rolling through her body all day that only mad sex with him would satisfy. "Well, where _did_ Em go?" she croaked.

He backed up and nodded uncomfortably. Did he look...disappointed? Rubbing the top of his smooth head, he said, "She went out to get some groceries and to drop by her office a moment. She'll be back to do some sight-seeing with us as soon as she's done there."

"Well, then..." she said, tapping her chin. "What are we going to do until she gets back?"

A coy smile covered his face and he went closer to her, grabbing her around the waist and picking her up in his arms. The blush that had covered her cheeks only moments ago was now covering every surface of her body. What the hell was he doing? As he took her towards the couch with a bright smile on his face, she suddenly began to panic. Oh, dear lord, what was he about to do. She didn't look particularly amazing at the moment. She was wearing underpants that had fraying lace because she had yet to buy more. Her body was slightly bloated from being on her period the first few days of being in London and it made it look like she had gained five pounds. She yelped as he carried her towards the couch and plopped her down on the cushions. He smiled down at her utterly confused face and shook his head. The next moment, he was sitting next to her and picking up the remote.

"So," he said with his silly crooked grin that kept her up some nights. "What British show does your sexy little butt want?"

Leaning her head against his shoulder, she giggled. "Turn it to, Downtown Abbey," she requested. "We can watch that until she gets back."

XXXXX

"Prentiss!"

Emily looked up from her desk where she was gathering a few papers to find her boss rushing towards her. She tilted her head to the side. "Hey, Kent," she said. "Is everything okay? You look rather panicked."

He nodded vigorously. "That's because things are really wrong," he said. "We've got a situation happening in the streets right now."

"What's going on?" she asked, suddenly very serious.

He shook his head and pulled out his tablet from his briefcase. "Let me show you this first," he said gravely. "This was taken by a civilian and posted on the web. It's already gone viral." He pressed the play button on his screen and the sounds of screaming erupted. She noticed that people were running in total chaos and at first. A few seconds later, she saw exactly why. Several people in what looked like a mob were screaming manically as they chased people.

But these people doing the chasing had faces covered in blood and their they looked almost inhumanly crazed.

She looked back up at Kent and gaped. "What the hell is this? Who is that angry mob?"

"Prentiss, this isn't just an angry mob," he said seriously. "It seems that some animal activists broke into a secret research facility that was doing experiments on chimpanzees. The problem with them? They were infected with a virus. And now that the virus has been released, it's spreading through the city like wild fire. The army is coming in, but not fast enough."

Her face drained of blood. "Are you saying that we've got an epidemic?"

Kent nodded. "Yes," he said. "And right now the only thing we can do is survive. That and pray."

She grabbed her gear and nodded. She had to warn Derek and Penelope. "How much do we actually know about it?" she asked when she slung her.

"Well, it's not air born, it's transferred through the blood or saliva. Get bitten, you get the virus. People keep succumbing to it. We've been advised to attempt to get out of the country. I suggest you get your friends and run."

"Already done," she said hastily as she hurried towards the door.

XXXXX

Derek sat on the couch with an arm around Penelope. He wished she would see how he felt about her. She was the love of his life, but he apparently failed miserably at expressing his feelings for her. And when he looked at her, it looked like she might respond, but then she never did.

Penelope confused the hell out of him when it came to the two of them possibly getting together.

A commercial break for _Downtown Abbey_ struck and Penelope sat up, stretching in the process. She grinned and said, "Well, I'm going to use the little girls' room. I'll be back as soon as I'm done and hopefully we'll be watching the episode again!"

Unable to keep a grin of his own off his face, he leaned his head back against the cushions and blew out an exaggerated sigh. "You're lucky you're gorgeous, because if you weren't, I don't think I'd sit through all this...drama." He jerked his thumb in the direction of the TV.

She giggled and started for the bathroom, swishing her hips as she went.

He leaned his head back against the cushions, turning the volume on the TV to mute. There had to be a way for him to tell Penelope how he loved her tactfully. Maybe Emily could shed some light on the topic, give him some advice on the topic. Because at this point, he was completely clueless on how things should be going. Never in his life had he been in love with another human beings. Now that he was, the woman he had fallen in love with was making things...hazy. Did she love him, did she not love him? Those and more were the questions he had in mind.

Rubbing his face, he rose from the couch to get another cup of coffee. He glanced at his watch. Prentiss should have returned by now. His brow furrowed as he took a sip of his freshly poured coffee.

"Derek? Where'd you go?"

He looked up at the sound of Penelope's voice. "In the kit -" he started to call out before the sound of the door being thrust open interrupted him.

"Guys!" Emily said swiftly, coming in and locking the door behind her. Both Penelope and Derek rushed to meet her.

"Em?" Penelope asked with concern. "What's wrong?"

Emily went to the window that overlooked the street below and looked around nervously. She was very clearly rattled by something. Her hair was frazzled, her cheeks were red, and she was breathing heavily, as if she'd been running to get back.

Derek and Penelope exchanged a worried glance. "What's going on, Prentiss?" he asked. "You look freaked."

She looked back towards them and nodded. "We should all be freaked," she said in shaky tone. "Guys, we have to get out of here. Now!" She looked out the window again and the blood drained from her face.

Penelope rushed to her side and looked out the window as well. The blood drained from her face and she looked like she might be sick. Derek joined them, but he wasn't paying attention to whatever they were looking out at; he was concerned about Penelope.

"Oh my God!" Penelope cried, her nails digging into Derek's arm so hard that they left trenches. "Em, did that guy - did he just, just..."

Finally, Derek looked outside and saw what both his friends were staring at. Down below on the street, slightly difficult to see was a group of three people moving at lightning speed.

And on the ground at their feet was another human being, a puddle of blood surrounding them.

Derek and Penelope turned to face Emily's grim face. "What the hell is going on, Prentiss?" he growled.

Her face pale, she shook her head. "You guys will hardly believe this," she breathed. "I'll explain while we pack.


	2. Explaining The Outbreak

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**I want to thank you all for reviewing! I'm hoping this story will be to your liking. Horror, scary, monster stuff is my favorite thing to write in my original works, so I'm taking it into my fanfictions now...just 'cause it's fun :) Hope you enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW!**

"Emily, tell us what the hell is going on?" Penelope demanded as Emily was rummaging in her drawers for some of the most basic clothing. She started throwing a few pairs of socks into her duffel, ignoring Garcia's questions. The situation was more dire than just a few people getting violently sick and the rest of the population in need of a flu shot; this was the army not even being able to contain the people who had grown so violent they were going around killing and infecting all in their way. What had begun almost a week ago in a lab outside of London was now starting to take over the city and turn it into anarchy. It hadn't become much of an issue until it started to spread into the city.

As she moved to get toiletries from her bathroom, Penelope trailed behind her. Raising her voice, she demanded, "Emily! Tell us what's happening!"

Derek's voice came in next. "Yeah, Prentiss," he said, his voice more calm, but still concerned. "You gotta tell us what's going on. Seriously." He had his hand protectively holding Penelope's, trying to keep her calm.

She stopped abruptly and turned to face them. How could she explain this to them? What could she do to tell them that they were all truly in a dangerous situation that all of their lives were threatened in? This was no case with an unsub that they could profile, or that Garcia could use her computers to help bring down. These were just sick people with uncontrollable rage that could not be harnessed. And the worst part?

There was no cure, not even a vaccine.

"Alright," she said. "But we don't have long." She looked up into both their eyes, her best friends holding each other, and began explaining.

"A little more than a week ago, a group of animal activists broke into an animal testing facility. They were trying to release a bunch of chimps. Only problem was, those chimpanzees were infected. They had some sort of man-made virus created in that lab. When they released the chimps, they were bitten. The infection is spread by saliva, by blood. We...we don't know what it is, but it's spreading. And fast. The army isn't able to hold them back. The city is becoming wild. People are panicking, there have been murders, looting is becoming popular.

"It's becoming anarchy out there. And people are getting sicker and sicker."

Derek's eyes were wide. "Are you saying that..._that_, the people who ripped that man's throat out, are infected with something...like a flesh-eating sort of zombie thing?"

She shook her head. "They're not dead," she said. "And as far as we can tell they're not eating anyone. They're just turning them. And right now, we have to get out of here. There are still planes leaving the country. We need to be on one of them immediately. Pack light."

Derek looked at Penelope. "Start packing," he said.

All she did was nod.

Both of them disappeared to get the most necessary items gathered and their bags packed. Bending her head, Emily closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Her hand came up to her mouth and she started biting on her nails. She had to get her friends out of here safely. That was her main concern.

It was like with Ian Doyle. These two were some of the people she was closest to and she would die to protect them. It was her duty to get them out of here. She knew very well that Derek could handle himself just fine, and in all likelihood he would take it upon himself to keep Penelope safe because he loved her. But this didn't stop Emily from wanting to protect them and keep them safe.

"You can do this, Emily," she said, attempting to reassure herself. "You can keep them safe. It's possible. You'll get them out of here." She bit her nails several more times before returning to packing.

She bent down to her safe and punched in the code. This was going to require some fire power. Pulling out the three guns she had stashed in the safe, she sighed. Penelope was not going to like this, carrying a gun.

But it was the best way to keep herself safe. She would just have to deal with having one on her person.

A soft meow came from behind her and she turned around to find Sergio. "Oh, Serg," she said, going to pick him up. "No way am I leaving you behind." She stuck him inside her duffel and made sure the zipper was left open enough that he could get air, but not enough that he could wiggle out. "We're getting the hell out of here, buddy. Don't worry."

XXXXX

"Derek?" Penelope murmured, halting her packing momentarily to look at her best friend.

He looked at her briefly. "Yeah, Baby Girl?"

"Is this, this virus I mean, is it the real deal? Is it like the Black Plague or small pox or something?" She threw her toothbrush and a pair of underpants into her bag.

He kept packing, throwing a bottle of water into his backpack. "Penelope, I think this is the real deal," he muttered. "We just saw a human being rip another's throat out with his teeth. This is no ordinary virus. This is definitely the real deal." He went to her side and looked at her momentarily. Touching her cheek, he said, "But don't worry. I'm gonna keep you safe." He kissed her forehead. "That's a promise."

He couldn't even put into words how much he was going to keep her safe. Penelope was his one and only priority. He would die before anything happened to her.

As he looked into her trusting brown eyes, he saw that she knew how much he would protect her from even getting scratched. She nodded. "I know you will," she murmured.

They stood for a moment by themselves, just being with each other. The warmth of his hand against her cheek made her feel safer, more secure. But it was over all too soon. He coughed and said, "We've got to leave...we've got to get out of the country."

She nodded stiffly. "Yeah, we do."

Without another look at her, or another touch, Derek slung his bag loosely over his shoulder and headed for the foyer with Penelope following behind him. They met Emily there as she was loading a clip into her gun. Looking up at Derek, she leaned behind herself, grabbed two more, and handed him one of them. "You need to take this," she said. "I don't have much amo, but they'll help no matter what. We'll have to get other weapons at some point if we need to." Turning to Penelope, her look softened and she added, "Penelope, I know how you feel about guns, but you need this."

Penelope balked at the sight of it, and immediately Derek remembered the night when Battle had come to attack her. She'd been so scared of even defending herself with one against the man coming specifically to kill her. Now she was being asked to do it again.

But instead of arguing, she took it with a gulp and inserted it into the back of her jeans. "Okay," she said. "I can do this...maybe." When Sergio meowed in Emily's bag, Penelope breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good, you're bringing Sergio!"

"Where's your car, Prentiss?" Derek asked, changing the subject abruptly. "How far is it?"

"It's in the parking garage," Emily explained as they started out the door. The whole building was silent as they rushed towards the stairwell. "It's not far. Most people in the building have already taken off, so we should make it there relatively quickly."

They started jogging down the stairs and when they made it to the door that led into the garage, Emily paused and looked at both of them with intense fire lighting up her dark eyes. "Keep your eyes open," she warned.

Derek and Penelope merely nodded, and they all held their breaths as Emily pushed the door open into the parking garage.

**Short, but the next one will have more action (meaning horror and bloody stuff, so beware) in it. A quick note on Sergio: he will be like Jonesy from the Alien movies in this, so if you know anything about those movies, you'll understand what I mean.**


	3. Run

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Thank you for the reviews so far! With Halloween coming closer and closer, I'm going to try upping my speed of updating this story. Keep the reviews coming :) I love hearing your thoughts!**

The parking garage was completely silent as Emily, Derek, and Penelope stepped out the door. Emily and Derek held their guns at the ready and moved forward, checking around cars as they went. Penelope trailed close behind them, taking Emily's duffel bag with Sergio in it and holding it against her chest to keep the cat from meowing and giving away their position.

Looking behind him, Derek met Penelope's eyes and nodded for her to hurry along behind them. She went along and hugged the duffel close to her chest. She glanced side to side and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that no one was around.

"Come on, Garcia," Emily hissed.

"I'm coming!" she whispered.

It was completely silent in the garage, almost serene. It was hard to believe there was any disaster happening outside it. Emily motioned to her SUV and they made their way over to it. As they were running between the other cars, Penelope tripped and fell over, the duffel bag flew forward. A shooting pain flamed up in her knee and she bit her lip to keep her gasp from being too loud. Derek looked behind himself and his face became panicked.

"Penelope!"

Emily stopped momentarily and picked up the bag with Sergio in it, slinging it over her shoulder, ignoring the yowl of protest of the cat. She panicked when she saw her friend on the ground. Before she could say anything though, a piercing scream broke out through the garage, echoing off the walls. The first scream was followed by another that was equally as terrifying. Both sounded inhuman, animalistic.

All three of them stood completely still, their ears taking in the sound that they had just heard. Derek pulled Penelope to their feet as the sound of running filled the garage.

Then, they came into view. Three blood soaked, crazed human beings.

They weren't human anymore. They'd become Infected.

Emily immediately looked at her friends and yelled, "Run! Get to the car!"

Derek and Penelope burst into a jog and flew towards her car. As the three of them hurried down the pavement, they heard the sounds of the three Infected chasing after them, their feet pounding against the ground. Fear filled Penelope's heart and she held Derek's hand tightly as he dragged her along. She glanced behind her to see how close their pursuers had gotten and yelped; they were gaining on them. Fast.

Emily threw the door to the driver's side open and jumped in, slamming it shut and starting the car. Penelope and Derek followed suit into the back seat. "Hold on," Emily growled, putting the car in reverse. The car shot backwards and Penelope and Derek held on tightly to the hand holds on the ceiling. All three of the Infected fell prey to the car and they were crushed beneath the wheels of the car.

Slamming on the gas pedal, the car sped through the half empty garage. Along the way, they passed several more Infected, all their faces covered in blood and their eyes crazed.

Penelope was breathing heavily and looked down at her jeans that had ripped when she'd fallen. Her knee was scraped and bleeding, a bruise forming around it. Derek pulled her leg towards him and grimaced. "This looks bad," he murmured. "How's it feel?"

She bit her lip and nodded. "Stings like hell, but I can walk," she ground out. She looked into his concerned eyes and shook her head. "I'll be fine."

"Good," he said, kissing her forehead. He looked outside and squinted when they emerged with screeching tires from the parking garage and into the bright light of the day. All along the street there were fires and broken windows and people not sick running frantically from people who were. "Jesus," he breathed, looking at the chaos unfolding outside the safety of their car. "We've got to get out of here."

"No shit," Emily said. "We're on the - oh, fuck!" Her voice had risen to a scream and Penelope and Derek looked out the front window to see a small child standing in the middle of the road. Emily veered the car to the left in order to avoid hitting her and Penelope and Derek yelled as the car slammed into a telephone pole.

XXXXX

Derek's head was pounding and his ears were ringing as his eyes fluttered open. He looked around frantically and finally the sound of Sergio's yowling made it into his ears. In the driver's seat, Emily groaned and sat up.

"Prentiss! Prentiss, are you okay?" he asked, rubbing his forehead.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good," she said with a nod. "Damn, my head hurts though? Is Garcia okay?"

Next to him in the back seat, he saw an unconscious Penelope, a cut on her forehead from her head hitting the window. Panic filled his heart. No, she couldn't be -

But then her eyes started to open and she looked around, rubbing the blood from her forehead. "God, my head hurts," she whimpered. She looked at her blood covered hand and gasped. "Oh, no! I'm bleeding!" She looked over at Derek. "Derek! Oh, God, are you okay?" Her gaze shot to Emily. "Emily! Emily, what about you?"

Derek nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. Other than the cut on her forehead, she was just like she usually was: worrying about everyone. "We're both fine."

"But we won't be in a few minutes," Emily said hoarsely. "Now that we don't have a car, we need to find someplace to go and stay low to regroup and find another way to the airport."

Cold dread filled Derek's chest. This couldn't get any worse. His main concern was getting his friends out of here, but when they had no car, it was bound to get ugly. Avoiding the Infected would be harder. And then there was the matter of the child they'd found in the middle of the road. There was no way they could leave her behind.

Penelope had apparently thought of the little girl as well. Her eyes grew wide and she shoved her door open. "We have to get that little girl!" she gasped, rushing into the road, through the smoke that was rising from the front of Emily's car.

Again, Derek panicked. "Penelope!" he cried. She was going to get herself killed if she ran into the road without any thought as to what might be out there. Her compassionate heart could very well get her killed. So he too jumped out of the car and followed her, pulling his gun out of his jeans and making sure the safety was off. He looked around and made sure the coast was clear for now; so far, no Infected were in sight. He joined Penelope who was leaning down in front of the terrified child, her hands on her shoulders.

The child was clutching a teddy bear and her face was covered in soot. Her jeans and shirt were in terrible condition. She couldn't have been more than six years old. "Sweetie, what's your name?" Penelope asked, touching the girl's chin.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks. It was clear she was traumatized. Derek continued to look up and down the street. By now, Emily had joined him, the bag containing Sergio slung over her shoulder. She had her gun pulled and was helping him look for any incoming threats.

The girl had not said anything and Penelope asked, "Where are your parents?"

"Dead..." the girl murmured. "The monsters killed them."

Penelope looked up at Derek and Emily. "Guys, we've got to take her with us," she said.

Derek nodded and leaned down. "I'm going to pick you up, okay?" he said. "We have to run."

She nodded. When the sound of screaming Infected rang out, her eyes turned terrified, and she practically jumped into Derek's arms. Emily looked at them all and nodded. "Run!" she said hurriedly.

"Hold on, sweetheart," Derek said to the little girl in his arms as he, Penelope, and Emily took off down the street.

They ran, ignoring the burning in their lungs and muscles. The sound of screaming could be heard and they sped up. "We've got to find somewhere to stop and hide," Penelope gasped.

Before Emily or Derek could respond, they turned to corner to a side street. However, once they did, they had to come to a screeching halt. On the street, running towards a trio of men, was a gang of Infected. Their speed was shocking, and they reached the men in a matter of seconds. Their mouths dropped open and they saw up close what the people affected by the virus were doing to people.

The Infected grabbed the men, the whole group shrieking and digging their nails into their victims' skins. All the men screamed in agony as their necks were bitten into, their throats being torn into and blood gushing from the wounds. They collapsed to the ground, convulsing and shaking, their mouths dripping with dark crimson, almost black blood. The ground around all the men became stained with the blood and Penelope had to force herself not to gag.

A mere ten seconds after they were torn into, the men who had been attacked rose from the ground, their eyes and mannerisms now mimicking those of the Infected. And right then the whole group was looking in the direction of Emily, Derek, Penelope, and the little girl. Hisses escaped all their throats.

"Turn around," Emily growled. "Go back!"

None of them hesitated. They returned down the street they'd come down and their feet pounded against the pavement. Penelope glanced behind them and saw the Infected gaining on them. Emily had done the same thing and she pulled her gun out. She halted and looked at Derek and Penelope. "Go! I'll catch up...soon as I kill these bastards."

Emily turned, took aim, and shot one of them in the forehead. She was in full on soldier mode, ready to shoot down any threat. Her focus increased and she fired, each time hitting their pursuers in a place that caused them to fall to the ground. The last one standing made it to her and tackled her to the ground. She fell backwards with the man on top of her and she was forced to hold him by his neck, keeping him off of her. He hissed viciously and his jaws snapped, eagerly wanting to sink his teeth into her flesh.

Getting a grip on his neck, Emily hollered viciously and twisted the Infected's neck, his head lolling to the side, broken. Shoving the blood covered, lifeless body off her. She huffed and rose to her feet, retrieving her gun. Momentarily she stopped and looked at the man she had just killed. Now that he was dead, he looked peaceful. Covered in gore, but peaceful nonetheless. It was sad to her. This man had a life that he'd been torn from because of a virus.

In a sense, he was innocent.

Shaking her head, she took off in the direction Derek and Penelope had gone. The most important thing now was getting off the streets, not the life a man had lived before becoming sick.


	4. No Way Out

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**New chapter! Please enjoy and keep the reviews coming...I love getting your feedback and thoughts. For those of you worried about Emily, don't worry, she's okay. I wouldn't hurt her!**

Derek and Penelope stopped momentarily with the little girl, waiting for Emily to catch up to them. She did finally, her clothes stained with blood. Penelope breathed a sigh of relief. "There's a police station just up ahead," she panted, pointing down the street, gasping for breath after their sprint to get away from the Infected roaming the streets. "Maybe we can find help?"

"They're all dead," the girl in Derek's arms said. "I was hiding there."

"We should still look, see if we can find a radio," Emily said. "Maybe we can find more weapons, too." She looked at the girl. "Sweetheart, are there any Infected in there?"

She shook her head. "They all chased me." Then she buried her face against Derek's chest.

Penelope looked tenderly at the traumatized little girl Derek was holding. She couldn't even imagine the terror she must have been feeling at her parents being dead. What had she seen already? Was it anything more horrible than what she'd just witnessed? Had she personally watched what her parents' fate had been, or had she just seen their Infected bodies?

"Don't worry, you're safe now," Derek said soothingly. "We're going to get you out of here." He nodded to Emily. "Let's look for a radio and supplies."

They started off down the street towards the station, keeping their eyes open for any Infected. Emily pushed the door open and checked both directions. The station was in disarray; chairs were knocked over, papers were covering the floor, lights were flickering. Blood was staining many of the surfaces. But thankfully, there were no Infected. She nodded to Derek and Penelope.

Time to find a radio.

"Let's go into the Inspector's office," Emily whispered. "We can lock the door in there."

"Agreed," Derek said as he and Penelope followed her into the office and locked the door behind them. He set the girl on the floor and looked to Penelope. "Baby Girl, can you talk to her and try to figure out who she is?"

She nodded and said, "Of course." She opened the duffel bag with Sergio was in and pulled the cat out. Surprisingly, he was completely calm. "Do you want to hold him?" she asked, offering Sergio to her. Hesitantly, the little girl looked at the cat and nodded after a moment, taking him in her arms and holding him tightly in her chest. "Sweetie, can you tell me your name?" Penelope used her thumb to try and wipe some of the dirt off of the girl's face.

The little girl was silent for a long time before saying, "My name is Eliza." Her voice was very quiet as she spoke.

"My name's Penelope. How old are you, Eliza?" Penelope asked.

"I'm six."

Penelope nodded. "Eliza, I need you to tell me what happened to you and your parents," she said gently. "I know it might be hard, so you can go as slow as you need to. But we need to know what happened to them."

Eliza sat in front of Penelope and continued stroking Sergio's fur. "My daddy works here," she said. "He's the Inspector. We came in here to stay safe and find help, but they were too fast. They killed Mummy first. Daddy had to shoot her to keep her from turning into a monster." She sniffled and started crying. "They got Daddy, too. That was when I ran outside and you found me." She started crying and Sergio wiggled his way out of her arms, disappearing under the desk.

Penelope pulled Eliza into her arms and started rocking her back and forth. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "But we're going to get you out of here, okay? You're going to be safe. I promise you."

"Mummy says it's not a promise unless you shake pinkies," Eliza murmured, looking at Penelope with large tears in her eyes.

Holding up her hand, Penelope nodded. "I _pinky_ promise," she vowed. "Because see my friends over there?" she added, gesturing towards Emily and Derek, frantically searching for a radio of some form. "My friends are superheroes. They save people every single day. So I _promise_ you that they'll get you out of here and safe. Do you trust me?"

Eliza cuddled into her and nodded. "I s'ppose so," she murmured.

"Good," Penelope said.

XXXXX

"Find anything yet, Prentiss?" Derek asked as he dug around in the Inspector's office.

"Noth - oh, wait!" she exclaimed. "Here's a radio!"

Derek hurried to her side and started fiddling with the dials. For a few moments, there was nothing but static to be heard. A faint voice started to be heard and Emily and he looked at each other, hopeful looks in their eyes. "Keep going," she urged. "We're bound to get something."

Sure enough, two seconds later, the voice of someone started to ring out. It was crackly at first, but then it cleared up so they could hear the voice of a man very clearly.

"_Attention! If anyone is listening to this, this is a warning. Do not got to the airport, any airport. They have been overrun with Infected. They've completely turned everyone. There are no more flights leaving. It's our suggestion that you leave the cities. Find somewhere in the country, and wait for help. Keep yourselves safe...and may God be with us all."_

The message started all over again, saying the same words over again.

For a moment, Emily and Derek just stared at the radio, completely in shock. Finally, they turned it off. Derek rubbed his face. "What the hell are we going to do now?" he asked in a low voice. "There aren't any planes leaving anymore."

"Do any of our cells work?" she asked. "Maybe we could call Hotch, see if he could get us out of here."

Derek pulled out his cellphone. No bars. He shook his head. "Nothing," he grumbled. "Towers must have been destroyed. What about the landline? Does _it_ still work?"

Wordlessly, Emily picked up the phone on the desk. No dial tone. She shook her head, still not saying a word.

Slamming his fist down on the table in frustration, Derek growled, "Fuck!"

Penelope and the little girl looked up abruptly. "What is it?" Penelope asked. "What's wrong?" Her face was full of fear and she held the girl closer to her. Derek was afraid. How was he supposed to tell Penelope and the girl that he would be unable to get them out of the country? It was he now who was afraid. He felt like an utter failure.

"We're not..." His voice trailed off. He just couldn't say it.

Emily spoke up. "There aren't anymore planes leaving the country," she said quietly. "The airports have been overrun. There aren't any planes left. We - we can't leave." She bent her head in frustration.

Penelope's face went white. "Wh - what?" she croaked. "There's no way to leave the country? We're _stuck_ here?" Her voice had risen and she looked at the little girl and murmured, "Eliza, I need to stand up. Do you want to go find Sergio?"

Eliza nodded. "Okay," she mumbled quietly, rising from Penelope's lap and going to find Sergio under the desk on the other side of the office.

Penelope rose to her feet and went to stand in front of Derek and Emily. She crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Guys, what are you talking about? We -"

Derek put his hands on her shoulders and said firmly, "Garcia, we cannot leave the country...there are no more planes. We're not going anywhere."

Tears filled her eyes. "We - we're not going..." Suddenly her breathing increased and she covered her mouth with both her hands. "You're telling me that we're stuck here, in this huge mess?" she gasped. She was hyperventilating by now.

Derek grasped her by both her shoulders and shook her roughly. "Penelope, you need to calm down!" he said firmly. "We are going to figure this out. We are going to get out of here." He touched her cheek and said, "I'm going to get you out."

"We have to find a way to stay safe!" she said, grabbing his wrists. "I promised Eliza that I would get her out of here. I _have_ to keep that promise."

It didn't surprise Derek that Penelope had already bonded with the little girl. She was a natural with children. "I know it's hard, but you've got to hang tight," he said. "You have to stay calm and trust me and Emily to get this figured out. We'll get both of you out of this. I promise. Do you trust me?"

She bit her lip and nodded. "Yes," she said in a deathly quiet voice. "Of course I do."

He meant every word of it. As he looked into her trusting brown eyes and saw the pure terror lying in them, he knew he had to prove to her just how safe he would keep her.

He would get them all out, even if he had to die doing it.

XXXXX

Emily watched as Penelope walked away from Derek to rejoin the little girl, Eliza. They had just retrieved Sergio and Penelope was kneeling in front of the girl, reassuring her that they were going to find a way out, that Derek and Emily would keep them safe.

"They're going to keep us safe?" Eliza murmured, stroking Sergio's fur.

Penelope nodded. "Yeah, they are," she murmured. "They're the best people to get us safe. So I need you to do me a favor. Can you do something for me?" The little girl nodded. "I need you to take care of Sergio. Does that sound good?"

Again, the little girl nodded.

Emily's heart warmed for a moment. Even in a dark situation such as this one, Penelope was comforting and being her usual kind self, despite the fact she was terrified. Already it was clear that she would protect Eliza, even though she was a stranger to them. It just wasn't in her nature to ignore anyone who needed help.

And what was more, Eliza seemed to be just as attached to her already. She was clinging to her side and looking constantly to make sure she was right there with her. It was as if she was substituting her for the parents she had just lost.

"We have to get this little girl out of here," Emily said to Derek as he began to load ammunition into his backpack. "She's already lost everything, she can't lose her life, too."

Derek nodded. "I know," he said. "And we will. Just as soon as we get -"

But he didn't get a chance to finish. As he was speaking, something slammed into the window of the office from the bullpen of the station. It was an Infected. She spit blood on the window and beat against the glass with her fists. Her inhuman shrieks were muffled, but still audible as she yelled. Eliza screamed and buried her head against Penelope, holding Sergio tightly to her chest. Penelope wrapped Eliza in her arms and closed her eyes tightly. Derek pulled his gun and Emily and he aimed at the glass.

"On three," he said, glancing at Emily.

She nodded shortly and began the countdown. "One...two...three!"

Both of them fired simultaneously, their bullets going through the glass and hitting the Infected woman in the neck, dark crimson spurting from her and all over the shards of glass before she fell to the ground, motionless.

Emily grabbed her bag and looked to Penelope and Eliza. "Get your things, girls," she said hurriedly. "It's time to go!"


	5. Travel North

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Here****'****s the 5th one...sorry again on how long it****'****s taken me to update. School papers do not help speed along the process of getting chapters out :-/ Hope you continue to like this story! On another quick note, I'm wondering if I****'****m including enough Emily in this story, or if I****'****m focussing too much on Morgan and Garcia...if you could drop a comment about it in the box below, that would be lovely! As this is meant to focus on all three of them equally, I would like to be aware if I****'****m not giving Emily enough attention. PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU HAVE A MOMENT :D**

Penelope nodded immediately at Emily and looked to Eliza. She grasped her by the shoulders and said, "You remember how I asked you to watch after Sergio? Well, I need you to keep this bag over your shoulder, okay?" She opened the bag and motioned for the little girl to grab the cat. Eliza hurried to grab Sergio and put him in the bag, zipping it up and slinging it over her shoulder, earning herself a protesting yowl from the cat. "Okay, good," Penelope said, picking Eliza up and holding the tiny girl in her arms. "Hold on, alright?"

"Okay, Penelope."

She looked at Derek and Emily. Derek came and started leading her behind him. He held her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I want you to stay between me and Prentiss. Do you understand?"

All Penelope did was nod, her eyes wide. Hell yes she was going to stay close to Derek and Emily. They were the best possible way to keep Eliza safe.

Already she felt a fierce desire to protect the little girl. She didn't know why, she'd known Eliza less than an hour and already she was as concerned about her as if she were her own child. She had no idea why. But she was going to to do whatever she could to keep her alive.

Hesitantly and silently, all four of them made their way forward towards the front doors. Emily and Derek kept their guns up and were vigilant to every slight movement around them. As they moved forward, the lights suddenly went out and Emily cursed.

"Why did the lights go out?" Penelope whispered, noticing that Eliza had tightened her hold around her neck.

"Power lines must be shot," Emily explained with a shake of her head. "We've got to get out of town."

"How we gonna do that?" Derek asked sharply. They'd all stopped in the middle of the station, again trying to figure out a plan.

Emily cocked a brow at him. "We're going to get a car," she said bluntly. "We're going to get in a car and we're going to try and find somewhere safe until this blows over."

"And where are we going to go?" Derek asked. "Just to some random country town? What if they're crawling all over out there? If the whole country has been affected, the Infected are bound to be all over the place."

Penelope felt the blood drain from her face and the thought of _What if this never blows over? How do we know that these Infected will die? _filled her head. _Would they even make it out of London?_

_Would they make it out alive?_

But she bit her lower lip and nodded. All in due time. She looked tenderly at Eliza. "You holding on, Eliza?"

Eliza's only answer was tightening her grip on Penelope's neck and burying her face against her chest. She kissed her cheek and said, "Good. Keep holding on."

XXXXX

Emily motioned for Derek and Penelope to follow her cautiously. Now that the power had turned off, their journey was going to be much harder. And finding a car that wasn't crashed was going to be an even bigger problem. Every car they'd passed had been half destroyed or flaming.

_C__'__mon Prentiss, think! _she thought in frustration. Her main concern right now was survival and the survival of her friends. And it was clear that survival of Penelope was all Derek cared about. Emily knew he would die before letting her be hurt. They weren't a couple, but it was clear, even to strangers on the street that the two of them were in love. She knew with all her heart that he would do anything to protect her as well, but when it came to Penelope, if anything happened to her, she knew he wouldn't survive. He would lose all will to live.

The three of them made it to the door and she looked through the broken glass and checked both directions down the street. It was completely silent and there was no sign of a single human being, Infected or otherwise. She motioned for them to follow her, and they stepped out into the street, crunching over the broken glass. The sun was still high in the sky as it was only one o'clock. The temperature was pleasant, an ironic touch to the dreadful day that had befallen them.

All of them walked along, Derek and Emily remaining vigilant, Penelope holding Eliza tightly. Sergio let out the occasional meow, but otherwise it was silent. Even their breathing was subdued and almost inaudible.

When they found cars that looked less like they were wrecked, Derek said, "We need to check these. One of them may work." He looked at Penelope and put a hand on her shoulder. "Baby, I need you to stay with me. Check the cars for supplies…water bottles, food, you know what I mean."

Penelope nodded mutely, but followed him to look in the cars.

Emily looked towards Derek and nodded. They started to split up and began looking into the abandoned cars for any sign of a working car or supplies. She opened the door to a sedan and slid into the driver's seat. There was blood on the dashboard, but the key was still in the ignition. She turned it, but the engine wouldn't start. Who knew what had happened to stop the car. She just had to keep looking for one. There were about a dozen on the street, all close together.

Rising from the seat, she hurried to the next car, again finding that the cars were all dead, none of them even making a noise. Emily looked back towards Derek and Penelope. Penelope had set Eliza on her feet and she was helping her rifle through the cars. So far it looked like they had found a few water bottles. She sighed. They had to find a place with food, too. Who knew how long it had been since Eliza had last eaten. They had to get her some food.

She walked back over to them and shook her head. "Nothing over on that side of the street," she grumbled bitterly. "None of these cars work."

"It looks like all the batteries are dead. These doors have likely been left open," Penelope said. "We've got to get off the streets." She looked down at at Eliza and added, "We have to get Eliza some food, too."

Derek nodded. "Agreed. We could all use some food."

"But where are we gonna find some?" Penelope asked, gesturing around the street. "The stores have all been looted."

Emily shook her head. "Maybe not all," she said hopefully. "We just have to keep going. And if we find more weapons, we'll pick them up along the way." She looked down at Eliza and then back up at Penelope again. "We'll just keep pushing on. We'll find some place to rest for the night, too."

"Just keep your eyes open for Infected," Derek said. "Let's just start heading North. We'll rest along the way and find food. With any luck, we'll find a car that has at least a little bit of energy to get out of town." He looked between the women. "Sound good for now?" Both of them nodded. "Okay, good."

Penelope leaned down and motioned for Eliza to come into her arms so that she could pick her up. "You ready to get going?" she asked.

Eliza shook her head wordlessly. "I'm going to walk," she said. "I'll let you know if I get too tired."

Smiling, Penelope kissed her forehead. "Okay," she said. "But be sure to let me know if you get tired."

Once again Emily was touched by Penelope's affection for their new traveling companion. Was she connecting with her because both of them had lost their parents? Sure, Penelope had been older than her when her parents had been hit by a drunk driver, but she had still been young. It made their situations very similar.

"Let's get moving," Emily said.

XXXXX

Derek was extra vigilant as they worked their way north through London. Along the way they came across army barricades that were completely empty, the bodies of the dead littering the ground. Eliza had begun to get tired as the sun was setting and Derek had offered to pick her up and carry her. She was light as a feather. She'd proceeded to hide her face in his chest. Sergio had continued to remain quiet, but occasionally he let out a meow. The street being empty and no sign of Infected anywhere made their trip much easier, but soon they began to realize the sun was going to be down and night would set in. They needed shelter and food.

When they the reached an intersection, he spotted a gas station. He pointed towards it. "We can hole up in there for the night," he said. "There might be food and we can get it some sleep."

Emily and Penelope looked at one another. Then they nodded. "Let's go then," Penelope said as they started for their safe haven.


	6. First Watch

**Disclaimer: I own nothing whatsoever.**

**Don't know 'bout y'all, but I was PISSED about the outcome of the episode last night! Gonna pour my frustration into Fanfcition and keep my fingers crossed Savannah goes away and the silly writers get their shit together!**

**Anyways! Back to the story! Hope this one is scary…it's kinda what I'm going for considering it's a horror story. I hope my interpretation of Emily is going over okay with you guys…I've not written anything with her as a main character since my Grey's Anatomy crossover a long time ago! Let me know how I'm doing…I wanna hear your opinions and if you do/do not like it!**

**Thank you to all who have reviewed…it's very kind of you! Please enjoy this next chapter and PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU HAVE A MOMENT :)**

"Wait for me to check it out in there," Emily said lowly as they reached the gas station. The sun had gone down and they were looking into the darkened gas station. She turned Derek. "You got a lighter on you?"

Derek nodded, looked at Eliza and said, "I'm gonna put you on your feet, sweetie. Stay with Penelope, okay?" She looked up at him and nodded as he set her on her feet, going towards Penelope and wrapping her arms around her waist. He dug into his backpack and handed it to Emily. "You be careful in there," he said with a scrutinizing glance.

She nodded and opened the door to the store. Using the lighter, she looked around and saw that there was no one in there, dead, alive, or Infected. The store was relatively quiet and, surprisingly, things were still in order. Apparently, no looters had shown up here yet. Turning back around, she went outside and motioned for the others to join her. "It's all clear," she said.

The others came in through the door and immediately Derek motioned to Emily. "Let's get these up against the door," he said, gesturing to the shelves that contained the products the gas station sold.

Formerly sold, anyway.

Emily helped Derek move all the shelves up against any of the doors and glass and then proceeded to wipe her hands on her jeans, dusting them off against the fabric. "This should work until daylight," she said decisively. "We'll be safe for the moment." She glanced around. "Still, we should have someone on watch…just in case."

For some reason, she knew it was her who had to take charge. Penelope wasn't experienced and would be too busy taking care of Eliza, and in turn, Derek would be too busy keeping Penelope safe.

She could hardly believe that it had just been this morning that she had woken up thinking it would be a normal day. She'd thought the riots they'd been hearing about from other parts of the country were unrelated to each other. Hell, she'd thought they'd just been riots, pure and simple. Never would she have imagined that they were part of some bigger, more lethal issue related to a viral outbreak.

It all just went to show how the world could go to complete shit in a matter of hours.

Derek had knelt down in front of Penelope and was examining her knee that had been scraped and her head that had taken a knock in the car wreck. He examined the dried blood and went to the coolers to pull out a water bottle. She didn't say anything as he ripped off a part of his shirt to use as a cloth.

"Sorry if this hurts," he murmured, touching the wet fabric to her brow. He began to wipe the blood away and cupped her chin as he did it. She winced and he looked at her, a guilty expression covering his face. "I'm sorry, Baby Girl. I don't mean to hurt you."

She shook her head and bit her lip. "I'm fine," she mumbled. "Don't worry about it."

Eliza observed the two of them and asked, "Are you both husband and wife?"

Emily hid a smile. Even a six year old could see how in love her friends were. She watched as Penelope sputtered an answer and then went about collecting food. There wasn't anything healthy in the gas station, but food was food. She picked up several bags of chips and watched as Derek rubbed his face. Emily went and handed food to him and nodded. "Here," she said. "It may be unhealthy, but it's what we've got."

He nodded. "Yeah." He took two packages of chips and held them out to Penelope and Eliza. "Here girls," he said gently. "Not exactly healthy, but it's food."

Penelope reached out and took one while Eliza took the other.

Emily sat down across from them and pulled Sergio out of his bag, stroking his fur. "Hey Serg," she murmured. Sergio looked up at her with what appeared to be a look of annoyance. She didn't blame him; he'd been cooped up in a duffel bag all day and tossed around the entire time. "How you doing?"

"He's doing well." She looked up to see Eliza who had crawled over towards her and was now sitting Indian style in front of her. Holding Sergio out for her to take, Eliza shook her head. "No, I'm okay. He's a nice cat."

Emily watched the little girl and tilted her head to the side. So far Eliza had said very little in the time period she'd known her. Maybe now would be a chance to get her out of her shell more and understand her slightly better. "I'm sorry about your mother and father, Eliza," she murmured, scratching Sergio behind the ears.

The little girl's lower lip trembled and she nodded. "I miss her already," she whispered. "Why did the monsters take her? Why did the monsters come?" She looked towards Emily.

Emily wasn't able to see her eyes well, but her sniffles signaled she was weeping. Reaching out her hand, she rubbed Eliza's shoulder and murmured, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I don't know why they came. All I do know is that we have to get safe."

"Penelope said you and Derek are superheroes," Eliza said. "Why did she call you that?"

"Well…" Emily looked over at Penelope and Derek.

Moonlight that had managed to stream through a small open area of the gas station window that wasn't covered by something, shining over their faces and shoulders. Currently Derek was attempting to make Penelope eat more, but she continued to shake her head in refusal.

"Derek, I'm fine," she snapped to him. "Stop pushing food in my face." She turned her head away from him and closed her eyes.

"Baby Girl, you need to eat something," he urged, taking her chin in his hand and turning her face back towards him. His face was stern, but concerned. "Please? For me?"

Emily looked back at Eliza. "She calls us that because we worked for the FBI back in America," she explained. "We catch bad guys."

"Like the monsters?"

Emily sighed. The Infected were similar to, yet different than the unsubs they caught. They possessed the same brutality and violence, but then there was the fact that they had no possible way to control their rage. There was no cure, no way to keep others safe from themselves or others. There was no understanding of what was going on, but there were a few facts that were just on the surface to be observed. And on the surface there lay the fact that they were complex: they were monsters, but they were still human beings.

In essence, they were sort of were unsubs.

"Yeah," she said softly. "Like the monsters."

XXXXX

"I'll take first watch," Penelope volunteered around an hour after they'd all holed up in the gas station. It was almost ten o'clock in the evening and so far everything thad remained quiet. They hadn't encountered any Infected since the police station and things were quiet. That and she didn't feel like sleeping. And if she was awake, it would give her a chance to escape the prodding eyes of her best friend. Since they'd stopped, he was doing everything and more than a nurse at a hospital would do. He was forcing her to try and eat, he was taking care of her wounds, he was checking her forehead to make sure she wasn't clammy or too cold.

He was driving her absolutely nuts.

His concerns were valid — she did feel a little woozy — but she didn't feel like she would pass out. She just wanted a little time to think. And Derek's incessant nursing was making it absolutely impossible to do that.

Derek frowned at her. "No!" he said fiercely. "You need to get some sleep, Penelope. You have a head wound."

She glared. "Derek, just leave it alone! I'm fine."

"You need rest!"

"No, I don't! _You _do!"

Penelope and Derek were now standing adversarially in front of each other and Emily was forced to get in between them. "Knock it off, both of you," she snapped. She turned to Derek. "Let Penelope keep watch. She'll be fine. If she needs to rest, she'll wake one of us up."

Derek whirled to look at Emily and glared at her. "Prentiss! What the hell? How can you take her side in this? You know I should be —"

"Shut the hell up, Derek!" Penelope snapped. "You don't get to —"

"Both of you shut up!" Emily hollered, putting both her hands up. She fixed her gaze on Derek and added, "Let her stay watch. She'll be fine."

Penelope clenched her hands into fists and glared at Derek. She couldn't believe he was acting like this. Grumbling, she looked at Emily gratefully and said, "Thank you." She looked at Derek and nodded. His face was hard as he looked at her. She couldn't truly tell what he was thinking, something that was somewhat rare for her when it came to him. "Why don't you all just get some sleep? I'll let you know if something happens."

Emily nodded. "Sounds good," she said. She looked down at Eliza, who was looking up at them from the floor. "Eliza, we're going to get some sleep."

The little girl nodded and rose to her feet momentarily to throw her arms around Penelope's waist. Immediately Penelope's irritation towards Derek evaporated and she wrapped her arms around the little girl. She kissed the top of her head and murmured, "Get some sleep, okay?" She tilted Eliza's chin up and nodded. "You gonna do that for me?"

Eliza nodded. "Yeah, Penelope," she confirmed. "I'll take care of Sergio…just like you asked."

"Good," she said. She watched as Eliza followed Emily over to the corner of the store and started to set up a sleeping area. Derek had remained behind and when she thought he was about to yell at her, he took her hand. She looked down at his hand holding hers and gaped.

"Please just be careful," he murmured. "Wake me up if you need to get some sleep…please."

She couldn't quite tell, but it almost seemed like he was pleading with her. As annoyed as she was with him, she couldn't deny that he was looking out for her best interests. Sighing, she went forward and wrapped her arms around his broad frame, holding him close. "I promise you I'll wake you up if I feel tired," she whispered in his ear. "Get some sleep, Baby Boy."

He cupped her cheek and looked at her in the eye. Moonlight was streaming down and they stared at each other for a long moment. His gaze held hers and she didn't breath for a moment. Even though the world had quite literally fallen apart around them, the look in his eyes was making her feel warm and comforted, like she could take on the world. Sighing, she took his hand off her cheek and said softly, "Go. I'll wake you in a few hours."

Penelope remained at the window after the rest of her companions had gone to sleep. For a while she debated whether or not Derek had actually gone to sleep, but then she recognized the usual signs of him having a nightmare. She was tempted to go wake him up and let him know that he was just dreaming, but she had to stay at the window and keep watch.

Things had remained quiet, though.

Even though things were quiet however, she didn't feel sleepy; not in the slightest. Her mind was racing. There was little she could keep herself from thinking of. She thought of her BAU family, of her brothers she hadn't seen in years, of Henry and Jack. Would she ever see them again? Would they make it out of the city? Everything was scaring her right now and she couldn't stop her overacting brain from shooting towards different things.

As she was about to sigh again, the sound of glass breaking broke out and the sound of an Infected filled her ears. She gasped, but as she did, a freezing hand clamped down on her throat, cutting off her air supply. Two seconds had barely passed and a very strangled "Help!" escaped her lips before the world started to spin. Soon enough her vision started to be filled with blotchy patches, and eventually she began to black out, her world falling into darkness.


	7. A Rough Night

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Here's the next one! Mostly Derek's POV. Please enjoy and thank you so much for the reviews :)**

**Warning: This chapter contains graphic images of violence. Please read with caution.**

_The dream started off in a nice fashion._

_The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the grass was waving in the light breeze. Derek turned and looked around, wondering where the hell he was. It didn't matter, though. It was paradise._

_Next to him stood Penelope. She turned to him as well and a bright grin covered her face. "Hey Hot Stuff," she murmured, taking both his hands._

_He couldn't keep a smile from his face. "Hey back, Baby Girl," he replied. Not able to control himself, he let go of her hands and wrapped her into his arms, kissing her forehead in the process. "I love you, you know that right?"_

_She pulled back slightly and cupped his face in her hands. "I love you, too," she whispered._

_But as she was leaning up to kiss him, a vicious chorus of screams broke out and the sky grew dark instantaneously. A bright bolt of lightning struck across the sky. Both of them looked around wildly and he held Penelope closer. Across the grassy field appeared a horde of Infected, all of them running at top speed in their direction._

"_Run!" he yelled, grabbing her hand and pulling her along._

_As they were running, the Infected began to get closer and closer. His panic grew and he tried to run faster, but no matter how fast they ran their enemies were closing in on them._

_Very suddenly, Penelope's hand slipped from his._

"_Derek!" she screamed. "Help!"_

"_Penelope!" he hollered, turning around to help her. However, before he could reach her, she was engulfed in the horde of Infected. "No!" Grief filled his heart and before he could react anymore, Penelope reappeared in front of him._

_But she was no longer Penelope; she was an Infected, her eyes crazed and her face twisted in rage. Blood dripped from a wound in her neck where she had been bitten, and she hissed at him. Tears filled his eyes and he was forced to turn away from her. With all the speed he could muster, he took off in the other direction._

_Before he made it very far though, he was grabbed from behind and thrown roughly to the ground. He landed on his back. And when he looked up, he saw Penelope, Emily, and Eliza, all three of them staring down at him with their raged, Infected eyes. There was no sense of recognition between them, no hint that they remembered who he was. So without a second thought, all three of them dove down towards him, their teeth tearing through the skin of his throat. Blood gushed from the wound and he howled in pain, fear filling his hearts in his last moments before he turned into an Infected._

XXXXX

Derek's eyes snapped open immediately when he heard the scream. Looking in the direction of the scream, he jumped to his feet and rushed towards Penelope. Her neck was in the grasp of an Infected woman who was snarling viciously at her. Pulling a knife he had hidden in his boot, he hurriedly stabbed the wrist, shouting, "Close your mouth!" so Penelope wouldn't get any of the blood in her mouth. He began hacking at her wrist, working to separate her flesh from her bones. Blood began to spray over their chests and arms and the Infected woman continued to scream in her inhuman voice. Finally Derek was able to her hand and wrist separated from her forearm, and the hand dropped to the floor of the store.

The piercing scream of pain from the woman rang out and she retreated from the window, disappearing from view. She left a trail of blood behind.

Beside him, Penelope was coughing and choking, gripping her throat. There was pure terror in her eyes and she was shaking uncontrollably, her legs wobbling from lack of balance.

"Penelope, oh my God!" Emily gasped, also coming to their sides. "What happened?" When it was clear Penelope was too shocked to answer, she turned to him and demanded the same thing. "Derek! What just happened? How did the Infected get through there?"

Derek didn't pay any attention to Emily. He yanked the still coughing Penelope into his arms and held her in a deathly tight embrace. Tears, which usually never came to him, filled his eyes and he choked on a cry. She began sobbing all of the sudden and he held her even tighter.

"I've got you," he murmured in her ear. "You're okay."

She didn't say anything; she just continued to weep against him. Pulling away from her, he saw that her whole shirt was covered in blood, just like his. Putting his arm around her waist, he began to lead her towards where their backpacks were and she croaked hoarsely, "I almost died!"

He motioned for her to sit down and unzipped her backpack, producing another shirt for her. He then grabbed the rag he had used to wipe her head wound from earlier. Producing another bottle of water, he wet the cloth and began to clean her face, removing any trace of tears and blood. "We're going to get you cleaned up and then we'll get you some rest," he murmured, finishing up her face and moving down to her neck. He noticed, even though the light was dim, that her neck was beginning to bruise. The Infected woman had held her incredibly tight around her throat, leaving dark handprints behind. Moving his hands down to the hem of her shirt, he added, "I'm going to take this off and we're going to put on a clean one so you're not in this bloody one. Are you okay with me doing that?"

She nodded mutely and he pulled her shirt up over her head, handing her the clean one. Swiftly she put it on and then wrapped her arms around her knees. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead which he had cleaned and she said, "I'm sorry I didn't keep watch better."

He shook his head. "Don't apologize. That opening there was so small you likely wouldn't have been able to see her. We're all safe, and that's all that matters." He glanced over to where Emily was fixing up the whole that the Infected's arm had slipped through. Digging into his own bag, he produced another shirt and tore his blood-stained one off. He took the rag and began to wipe his own face.

Looking towards Eliza, he noticed she hadn't woken up. She was clearly a heavy sleeper and likely exhausted from the day of trekking through London and running from the Infected. He turned his glance back towards Penelope and said, "Why don't you get some sleep? I'll keep watch now."

All she did was nod and throw her arms around him. He held her tightly in his embrace and closed his eyes. Even the smallest thought of losing her was terrifying to him. After a long moment in his arms, she stepped away and went towards Eliza's still form. Laying down next to her, she closed her eyes and remained motionless.

Derek rose to his feet and strode over to where Emily was rubbing her eyes before returning her gaze vigilantly to the amount of street she could see through the barricades they'd built up. He leaned against one of the shelves and squinted to see out as well.

Emily turned her gaze from outside to him. She cocked a fine, dark brow at him. "Derek, when are you going to tell her that you love her?" she asked in a whisper. "It's been _years_ and you still haven't said anything."

Keeping his eyes trained outside, his jaw tightened. He didn't even blink. "Is now really the time to be talking about this?" he ground out.

It really wasn't something he wanted to think about, but he couldn't stop himself. He could have easily lost her tonight. After so many years of staying silent, what would any of his love have been worth if she died or was harmed in anyway? His love for Penelope was the greatest, most intense feeling of something other than anger he'd ever felt. Sure, those feelings would always be there, but they would be overshadowed by her absence if he lost her. Just thinking about it made his stomach churn.

The dream he'd had before she'd woken him up screaming was even more disturbing to him.

What did it mean?

"We're safe for now," Emily said. "Accept it, you're in love with her and everyone else knows it. Hell, a six year old girl who you hadn't met before today thought the two of you were married."

He shook his head. "Prentiss, I appreciate the thought of you trying to cheer me up, but right now we just need to focus on staying alive and focus on the fact that we have no idea where we're going yet."

"Is this because of Lynch?" Emily persisted. "Because I seriously wouldn't worry about him. He's an idiot and Penelope doesn't look at him the same way she looks at you."

Derek rolled his eyes. "I don't need a pep talk," he stated bluntly. "What I need is to keep her and that little girl safe. Neither of them know how to fight or fend for themselves in a survival situation."

"Keep telling yourself that then," Emily said with a sad shake of her head. "You want to protect her this intensely because you wouldn't be able to survive if you lost her. You need to tell her exactly how you feel."

He turned to her and glared. "Not right now," he said through gritted teeth. "My main concern is getting all of us out of here alive. We just have to do what the recording said and get out of London." Noticing Emily's still scrutinizing gaze, he added in a more harsh tone, "Dammit Emily, I need you to drop this! I can't handle this right now. Yes, I could have lost her tonight, yes, I want to tell her I love her. But right now we need to focus on keeping us all safe. There'll be time to tell her later."

Somehow he thought Emily would say more, but when he glanced over at her again, her mouth was clamped shut.

XXXXX

Dawn started to peak over the tops of the buildings in the abandoned London. Emily, who had been awake the rest of the night after Penelope had been attacked, blinked several times and went towards the fridges to grab a can of soda and a bottle of water. She needed caffeine and she needed to remain hydrated. She took a long gulp from both and looked towards her sleeping friends.

Some time after their conversation, Derek had gone to get more sleep after helping Emily keep watch. He had wrapped his arm around Penelope protectively and the two of them had continued to sleep through the rest of the night.

As Emily finished off her bottle of water, she checked her watch. It was now almost seven in the morning. It would be full daylight in around an hour. They needed to get moving and utilize as much sunlight as they could.

Time to wake her friends.

Going over to where Derek, Penelope, and Eliza were sleeping, she leaned down and shook Eliza's shoulder. The little girl opened her eyes slowly and blinked up at her. "Emily?" she murmured.

Emily smiled. "It's time to wake up," she whispered. "We're going to travel again. Can you get Sergio and get him ready to go?"

Eliza sat up and nodded, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She began to crawl around on the floor, searching for Sergio.

Next she went to wake Penelope and Derek. Shaking Penelope, Emily said, "Wake up, PG." She went to tap Derek next. "You too, Derek. We have to go. We need to collect food and get moving."

Penelope's eyes slowly opened and she yawned. As she tried to sit up, Derek's arm held her tighter against him and she looked down at his grip on her waist in shock. Looking back up at Emily, she said, "When did _this _happen?"

"Last night," she replied in a soft voice. "He stayed watch with me, but then I told him to get some sleep and he curled up over here by you."

"Huh." Lifting Derek's arm off of her, Penelope stood up and started patting his face. He sat up with a start and looked around hurriedly. "Wakey, wakey," Penelope coughed, averting her eyes from his.

If the situation weren't so grim, Emily might have laughed. Shaking her head, she offered a hand to Penelope and helped her to her feet. With a twinkle in her eye, she nodded to Penelope and Derek and said, "Let's get our bags packed and move out."

Penelope hurried away, looking like she wanted to avoid Derek. She went over to Eliza and was greeting her good morning. Emily's eyes met Derek's and she shook her head. All he did was glare at her, and only then did she find it in her to smile.

Something told her there was more coming for her friends, even if they _were_ in a rapidly deteriorating country.


End file.
